1 - 8 of 8 comments a.. When one reads about an organisation led by an insecure, attentionseeking leader, who revels in obfuscating remarks to "defend Islam, thespecial rights of Malays and bumiputeras", it does seem that the lunaticshave taken over the asylum. by temenggong - an hour ago

"..a brutal effort to exorcise it from the Malay psyche." Definitely, butunfortunately it is not forthcoming. One way out is for the nation totransform into a welfare society but this is only practical if malay birthrates coming down. This, is the brutal reality.

b.. by Maggie Lim - 2 hours ago You are not the only one but as usual, the good ones are usually silent.They do not want any problems or be singled out by these extremists. It isthe same with all races unfortunately.

c.. by tomkurus - 3 hours ago Well said..if only all malays were like you! Why cant we live asmalaysians and eradicate poverty across all racial lines? This so calledketuanan melayu and defeders of malay rights are a whole load of crap! Whatrights are they fighting for when they have everything? How would Perkasalike it if the orang asli's did the same to them? We are all pendatangs atone time or the other so I really don't know why is this still the issuewith the malays. I will vote for you anytime Mariam. Keep up the good workand educate the ignorant malays.

d.. by Arif Shazman - 3 hours ago you are definitely not alone. There is a growing discontent amongstMalays,we are aware of the ignorance and paranoia within our race.TheKetuanan Melayu movement is being championed by public,political figures butthese are mere faces to something that has existed for a very longtime,within many different levels of society. Najib and his 1Malaysia teamneed to confront the issue head-on,make themselves the unifying theme.Thismeans a total cleansing of the government,a new way of doings,proof throughactions-then only will people come together for something positive,for nowwe'll be divided in insecurity and the absence of a strong government.Incredible article by the way,this kind of attitude will lead us into thefuture.

e.. by Imran Shah - 3 hours ago Imran; I feel saddened that whilst I work my tail off to put my 4 kidsthrough school and tertiary education all on my own accord, I have relativeswho keep on producing children with no idea or fear as to how will they getan education with most of them on meager earning capacities. So when willthe also " government must help" attitude ever disappear. the governmentcannot keep on supporting this continous bloating of our bumi populationthat's always wanting assistance.

f.. by Raikonen - 4 hours ago Yes, you probably are alone...

g.. by collin abraham - 4 hours ago This is arguably one of the most defining comments on this topic. Indeed,I might add that it has brilliantly achieved the objectives that many of ushave been trying to put across for some time Can I take this opportunity tourge the writer to kindly support the "revolutionary reforms" suggested thatthe leading politicians seem to have ignored at their peril?

h.. by Loyal Malaysian - 5 hours ago I will not be surprised if this brave writer shall be the next one calledto give a statement to the UMNOputras security wing. Bravo!! Very wellstated!!I can only hope this stand catches the attention of theUMNOputras[Perkasa belongs to that same genre]and they come to realise theracist card no longer is the ultimate power card!!

> "Ir. Hj. Othman bin Hj. Ahmad" wrote in messagenews:1b4e59d4-f5f8-4ee0-97d4-77809b14a5bd@c20g2000prb.googlegroups.com...> One is proven on video. The other has so many evidences that it is> > surprising it didn't come out. NOt surprising because anyone caught> > uttering a few words will end up disappearing for ever.

> > We should not blame politicians. Only those who vote for them.> > Malaysians may be sex maniacs themselves or at least most of them.

> Are you a sex maniac Hj Othman? Are you hoping to be one one day? It is so> much fun

Unfortunately I am not a sex manic and therefor a minority inMalaysia.

Today's victory is a pleasant one for Dr Chua, who had to battle the two heavyweight rivals but showed that he remains popular in the party despite many upheavals.

On Jan 2, 2008, he quit his Cabinet post and MCA vice-presidency after admitting that he was the man in a widely circulated sex video.

In the October 2008 party elections, he defeated former secretary-general and Ka Ting's brother, Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan, for the party's second highest post.

He was involved in a leadership tussle with Tee Keat when he was sacked in August last year for tarnishing the party's image because of the sex video.

He was reinstated as a party member by an extraordinary general meeting which also passed a vote of no-confidence in party president Tee Keat.

Subsequently, he was reinstated as deputy president by the Registrar of Societies, who in turn relegated Liow, who had filled the deputy president's post by then, back to vice-president.

Dr Chua buried the hatchet with Tee Keat to forge a "greater unity" plan but continued to face resistance from Liow and his supporters, including Youth chief Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong and Wanita head Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun, who continued to push for fresh polls.

On March 4 this year, he resigned with 21 other CC members to pave the way for the fresh polls today, his second resignation in two years.

A total of 2,315 of the 2,377 eligible delegates voted today, the highest ever turnout in the party's history.

A total of 101 candidates contested the posts of president, deputy president, vice-president (four) and CC member (25) in this party polls, which were last held in October 2008. -- BERNAMA------------------------------------MCA Polls: Live updates - Soi Lek is new MCA president

Today's victory is a pleasant one for Dr Chua, who had to battle the two heavyweight rivals but showed that he remains popular in the party despite many upheavals.

On Jan 2, 2008, he quit his Cabinet post and MCA vice-presidency after admitting that he was the man in a widely circulated sex video.

In the October 2008 party elections, he defeated former secretary-general and Ka Ting's brother, Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan, for the party's second highest post.

He was involved in a leadership tussle with Tee Keat when he was sacked in August last year for tarnishing the party's image because of the sex video.

He was reinstated as a party member by an extraordinary general meeting which also passed a vote of no-confidence in party president Tee Keat.

Subsequently, he was reinstated as deputy president by the Registrar of Societies, who in turn relegated Liow, who had filled the deputy president's post by then, back to vice-president.

Dr Chua buried the hatchet with Tee Keat to forge a "greater unity" plan but continued to face resistance from Liow and his supporters, including Youth chief Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong and Wanita head Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun, who continued to push for fresh polls.

On March 4 this year, he resigned with 21 other CC members to pave the way for the fresh polls today, his second resignation in two years.

A total of 2,315 of the 2,377 eligible delegates voted today, the highest ever turnout in the party's history.

A total of 101 candidates contested the posts of president, deputy president, vice-president (four) and CC member (25) in this party polls, which were last held in October 2008.

Following is the list of MCA's new office-bearers after the party's elections today:

'How ironic it is for Mahathir to talk about helping poor Malays, when his second son, Mokhzani, is a billionaire and ranked number 20 in the list of richest Malaysians.'

Multi racial: Well, if you want to know who are the racists in Malaysia, you don't have to go far as they are all in Perkasa and most of them are Umno members.

I'm very disappointed with former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who should have put more effort to unite the country instead of dividing it. With his support, Mahathir is now the champion of racism in Malaysia.

Urban Malaysian: What a tragedy! A retired prime minister lending his name and presence to a gathering of racist Malaysians. Is he missing the lack of attention as a retiree so much that he has to walk in the mud to get the required attention?

Ida Bakar: It is a bit like the story of the emperor's new clothes: Mahathir is the emperor, full of vanity as the wira (hero) for the Malays. The goons at Perkasa are like the weavers offering the outfit of fighters for Malay rights and privileges.

But we, the average Malaysians, know that it is all empty talk as it is devoid of policy, planning and vision.

Hashim: How ironic it is for Mahathir to talk about helping poor Malays, when his second son, Mokhzani, is a billionaire and is ranked number 20 in Malaysian Business' list of richest Malaysians. Mokhzani has a net value estimated at slightly over a billion ringgit (RM1.08 billion) through his vehicle Kenchana Petroleum.

Another son, Mirzan, is a member of the board in Philippines beer company San Miguel.

KSM: The impression that Malay rights are threatened is being propagated by Umno cronies who want more handouts so that they can hijack them for their own bank accounts.

Eugene: Let us forever remember those people who supported and attended the ceremony as we now know who the racists are. Even the Selangor sultan is wise to stay away from such an incendiary and racist ceremony.

Changeagent: Imagine the public outcry and international condemnation if former US presidents George W Bush or Bill Clinton had chosen to attend and officiate a KKK white-supremacist meeting.

Now, imagine the public scorn and international shame that Mahathir had brought to Malaysia when he attended and officiated Perkasa's Malay-supremacist meeting. Najib can truly say goodbye to his 1Malaysia aspirations.

Gen2: It looks like the government has sub-contracted the keris-kissing to this group of primitives still living with their tribal mentality while the world is changing around them.

It is shameful that several heads of government agencies attended this Perkasa meeting. They should realise that they represent their agencies. These agencies are there to serve all Malaysians not a group of people who want to keep Malaysia forever in the company of third-grade countries with third-grade mentalities.

Zubir: The emergence of Perkasa in Malaysia, which was approved by the Registrar of Societies (ROS) is very worrying. ROS in the first place should not approve any race-based association or NGO if they really support 1Malaysia.

Law Chin Teong: These are the very guys who have been pawning Malay interests while shouting 'Hidup Melayu!' What a pity that ordinary Malays continue to regard them as their protectors.

Yuvan: By associating with this highly dubious group Perkasa, Mahathir has effectively sealed the fate of BN at the next general elections. Despite his racist stance and all the negative perception about him, whatever little bit of respect and regard that the non-Malays had for him, merely as an elder statesman, I believe has completely gone.

It is also shocking and extremely disappointing that Mahathir's son, Mukhriz, who is a deputy minister in the government administration, has attended a function organised by a group that seems to have made it very clear that they are extreme hardliners and have absolutely no regard and no recognition for non-Malay existence in Malaysia.

Can Mukhriz now say anything in support of '1Malaysia' that his boss (the prime minister) is trying hard to promote and win back the respect of the Chinese and Indians in this country?

RubyStar: Mahathir is a real menace to this country. After 22 years of mismanaging the country he is again doing what he is best at doing - stirring up racial sentiments and damaging the infrastructure of the country.

Luckily there are a lot of GLC heads of corporations who refused to be drawn into this circle of bigots who thinks that the world owes them a living. This is a borderless world now. If you are great at running a business then you can have 100 percent of the total spoils.

Perkasa is only leaching on others, doing Ali Baba business, getting free lunches, handouts and robbing those diligent businessmen who build up their business only to be told it has to be shared. Mahathir, you have done enough damage to this country.

Don't Play God: Najib, there goes your 1Malaysia slogan. Perhaps now you can revise your policy and call it 5Malaysia. Or perhaps, your 1Malaysia plan was just another sloganeering hoax to pull wool over the rakyat's (especially the non-Malays) eyes.

Pendatang: Perkasa should join BN and appoint Mahathir their chief. Umno is not doing a good job in protecting the Malays hence Perkasa can take over, and Mahathir can rule once more.

Najib already promised to cut pullution in Malaysian by 20% but stillbuild coal power plant using imported coal, while Sabah huge gasreserves, so huge that it is economical to build a more than 200km RM2billion pipeline to Bintulu to be exported to West Malaysia.

"We found that energy efficiency, biofuels, hydropower, and geothermalprovide immediate advantages for the region over fossil fuels, andthat in time both solar and ocean energy could provide even moreenergy than coal, while building jobs and a clean environment,"Professor Daniel Kammen, director of RAEL, told mongabay.com.

Commissioned by Green SURF (Sabah Unite to Re-Power the Future), acoalition of NGOs that oppose the planned 300 MW coal plant, Kammenexamined Sabah's energy options, including traditional fossil fuels,biomass waste, hydropower, solar, wind, and geothermal. The analysisalso looked at the cost of each of these options to consumers, takinginto consideration that an independent energy producer would require acertain return on their investment.

Alternatives

The study found that using biomass waste from Sabah's extensive oil-palm plantations could provide a significant boost in energy to thestate while being cost-competitive with coal. This solution would alsodeal with a waste-disposal problem for the oil-palm plantations.

"The large scale of palm oil, and other biomasses means that this'waste' is a huge resource," says Kammen, though he also stresses thatoil-palm plantations are not without their own environmental problems."The challenge is not the technology, but in managing a wider issue,the growth in palm oil estates that have their own significantnegative impacts on the region, despite their economic benefits."

Using 2008 data from the palm oil industry, Kammen's report found thatby 2020 oil-palm waste could provide a staggering 700 MW. 400 MW (onehundred more than the planned coal plant) would be achievable under aproposed 4-year program.

Hydropower was also found to be cost-competitive with coal and moreenvironmentally friendly, while geothermal was found to be onlyslightly more expensive than coal. A location has already beenidentified on the east coast of Sabah for a 67 MW geothermal powerplant.

Kammen adds that Sabah shouldn't rule out solar energy. "Solar energyis a far better but a bit longer-term resource than is widelyappreciated today," he says.

The cheapest way forward overall is to pursue reduction in energydemand, according to the analysis.

Coal Fears

Despite the many environmental problems known to accompany coal power,the coal plant is being pushed by both the federal Tenaga NasionalBerhad and the state energy company, Sabah Electricity Sdn. Bhd.

Opposition from locals has forced the coal plant to move its location—twice. Now the plan is to build it on Sabah's east coast, within theCoral Triangle, an area known for astounding marine biodiversity. Inaddition, conservationists fear the coal plant's transmissions willcut through some of the region's last intact rain forest in TabinWildlife Reserve, home to a number of endangered species including theBornean orangutan and the Sumatran rhino.

Environmentalists also warn that sulfur dioxide emissions from burningthe coal could trigger acid rain that would impact nearby rain forestsand agriculture. In addition, discharge of chlorine sulfates into theocean would boost the likelihood of regional eutrophication and algalblooms, resulting in massive marine die-off. Currently, the area ishome to many fishermen who depend on the oceans for their livelihood.

Locals have said that they fear the coal plant will turn the eastcoast of Sabah into America's coal states, where water pollution, airpollution, coal ash dumps, deforestation, and destructive mining havedevastated the local environment and wildlife. They point to the coalash spill in Tennessee in 2008 as an example of what they don't wantto become.

"The environmental problems of [the planned coal project] are only thebeginning," says Kammen. "The renewable energy resources in Sabahcould lead to a path that invests in the people and sustaining theland, and not in expanding the dependence of the region on imported,dirty, coal."

Moving Forward

At Copenhagen last December, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, DatukSeri Najib Razak, pledged a 40 percent cut in carbon dioxide intensityby 2020. By moving forward on coal energy, Malaysia would make meetingthis goal even more difficult, since coal is the most carbon intensiveof the fossil fuels.

Kammen says that the choice between coal and renewable energy doesn'thave to be an either-or choice: either cheap or expensive, either jobcreation or job loss.

"The people of Sabah are keenly aware of the need for jobs, and oftheir incredible natural resource base. Renewable energy supports thatpositive development, and a coal project in the region fights thatpositive, clean, growth," he says.

Sabah, its people, and its policymakers are facing a decision similarto many places of the world: How do we move ahead on energy? Kammensays that if Sabah chooses renewable energy over traditional fossilfuels it could help spark a clean-energy revolution.

"Economies in all parts of the world can look carefully at theirresources, develop partnerships, and build a clean-energy, job-creating path that protects the natural legacy of each state andprovince, and our shared global legacy to leave the world a betterplace for our children," said Kammen. "So far, our society, globally,has not lived up to that charge," he explains, adding that "Sabah cantake a stand, profit from the choice, and chart a new path."

KUALA LUMPUR: Migrant workers are lured to Malaysia by promises of high salaries but often end up being exploited and abused, Amnesty International says in a report that urged the government to better protect foreign labourers.

“Migrant workers come to Malaysia to escape poverty and to provide for their families. Once they arrive, however, many workers toil in conditions that amount to labour exploitation,” the London-based rights group said in a report released Wednesday.

Malaysia depends heavily on foreign labourers, who make up more than a fifth of the country’s work force and fill jobs at construction sites, factories, restaurants, households and palm oil plantations.

But lower-than-promised wages, unsafe working conditions, and arbitrary arrests and extortion are common, said Amnesty.

An Amnesty team visited Malaysia in July 2009 and interviewed more than 200 workers - both legal and illegal - for the 100-page report titled “Trapped - The Exploitation of Migrant Workers in Malaysia.”

Malaysia’s Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam denied foreign workers faced discrimination, saying they had the same rights as Malaysian workers. He said they could bring complaints of mistreatment to the Labour Department, which solved most cases speedily.

“The system of bringing in foreign workers is a well established legal system ... It is fair to everybody,” he told The Associated Press. “We offer the same kind of protection to foreigners (as to locals)... We don’t protect employers who exploit workers.”

In its report, Amnesty urged Malaysia to increase workplace inspections and step up prosecution of those who mistreat workers.

It also called on the country to amend laws to guarantee better conditions and to stop employers or recruitment agents from holding workers’ passports, which restricts their ability to move about.

“The government of Malaysia has a responsibility to prevent ... abuses, which can include exploitation, forced labour, and trafficking in persons. Too often, the state fails to do so,” Amnesty said. “Much of Malaysia’s approach to migration is effectively to criminalise it, even though the country could not function without migrant labour.”

Amnesty said it found that migrant workers, brought to Malaysia by agents, are often deceived about their pay, the type of job _ some don’t even get work - and their legal status in the country.

Some workers are also held at their workplace by threat or violence, the report said. Three women from Myanmar, working as tailors, recounted how their employers called gangsters to intimidate and force them to work throughout the night.

About 2 million foreigners work in Malaysia legally, and an estimated 1 million more work illegally. Most come from poorer Indonesia. Others are from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Myanmar, the Philippines and Vietnam. They mostly fill jobs shunned by locals in this relatively wealthy Southeast Asian nation.

Amnesty said authorities indiscriminately stop those looking “poor and foreign” under the guise of checking their papers but often these are “moneymaking ventures, nothing more than opportunities for extortion.” -- AP

It is most embarrassing but one of the most common situations during a police raid is being caught in the midst of having sex.The girls covering their faces as policemen led them out from a hotel at Burma Road in Penang.

The girls covering their faces as policemen led them out from a hotel at Burma Road in Penang.The most recent occurrence took place at George Town, Penang, on Monday night, when two women, believed to be guest relations officers (GROS), found themselves in such an awkward situation when the police charged into the hotel rooms.

The women, a Chinese national and a Vietnamese, were half-naked and were believed to be in the midst of providing sex services to their customers when they were detained at a hotel at Burma Road.

The operation, carried out near midnight, saw the police nabbing 21 women in their twenties and thirties, four hotel caretakers – one of them wanted by the police – and 17 patrons.

The patrons were later released after having their statements recorded in the police station.

Condoms, cash and receipts were also confiscated from the scene, said State CID chief Senior Asst Comm (II) Wan Abdullah Tuanku Said.The women will be investigated for violation of their social visit pass, he added.

It is always important to ask the key question: who in society isbenefiting from economic growth? This question, unfortunately, is notmuch asked these days. Instead, the obsession is only with growth,writes Toh Kin Woon.

Recently, Malaysia’s mainstream media carried prominently news aboutMalaysia’s 40 richest businessmen or tycoons. A few among them countas among the richest in Asia, with wealth running in the billions ofUS dollars.

But I don’t consider having a few billionaires as an indicator ofsuccessful economic development. On the contrary, I feel that there isa defect in our country’s developmental record.

The nurturing of several billionaires is one indicator of a heavyconcentration of wealth and income in the hands of a few. Littlewonder the gap between the richest 5 per cent of households and thebottom 40 per cent is getting wider. Malaysia’s Gini coefficient,which is a crude measure of income inequality, is among the highest inAsia.

Despite rising inequality, there seems little concern about it. Exceptfor a few, policy makers, politicians, especially from the BarisanNasional, and even the public at large give hardly any attention tosuch social injustice and its negative ramifications.

They may be concerned about the incidence of absolute poverty. Eventhe rich and powerful would be put off by the sight of poverty, suchas dilapidated housing, hunger, disease and sickness, and wouldsupport state programmes to eradicate poverty.

It is a different matter, however, when it comes to calls for aredistribution of income and wealth through state intervention. Therelatively well off, including even the middle class and state elites,are hardly enthusiastic about creating a more egalitarian society.They will not, for example, support high direct taxes to finance stateprovision of health care, an efficient and cheap public transportsystem, and welfare payments to the poor and aged. They want lowtaxes, a small public sector, and more reliance on private initiativesto provide social goods.

Many years ago, when I was studying for my MA in development economicsin a British university, I learnt that it is always important to askthe key question as to who in society is benefiting from growth. This,unfortunately, is not much asked these days. Instead, the obsession isonly with growth.

Until today, I am still troubled by this question. I want to see therealisation of a more egalitarian Malaysian society, in which allcitizens lead dignified lives. Hence, I would like the government toadopt measures that can close the gap between the rich and poor.

Rather than having a few billionaires, I would rather have a societywhere there the bulk of society are members of the middle class.Egalitarianism is a goal we should all strive for.

By Adib ZalkapliKUALA LUMPUR, March 19 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad will open Malay nationalist group Perkasa’s inaugural assembly on March 27, replacing the Sultan of Selangor who had decided not to attend the meeting.

Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali said the former prime minister will be given a warrior’s welcome.

“Tun Mahathir will be given a grand warrior’s welcome in accordance with Malay custom,” said Ibrahim in a statement to The Malaysian Insider.

Dr Mahathir who once made Ibrahim a deputy minister had also officiated the Selangor Perkasa launch on Jan 30.

Yesterday Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah said that he would not attend the Perkasa assembly.

However the Sultan hoped that the Perkasa meeting would proceed and the organisation would carry on its agenda to safeguard the sovereignty of the institution of rulers, Malay and bumiputera rights and the sanctity of Islam as the country’s official religion.

He also clarified that Ibrahim should not be blamed for naming him as the guest of honour on the Perkasa assembly invitation card as the palace had on early last month agreed to the organisation’s request.

Meanwhile Ibrahim hoped those who wish to attend the assembly to arrive early at the Putra World Trade Centre.

“As of now, more than 8,000 members have confirmed their attendance and some 2,000 invited guests are also expected to attend,” said Ibrahim.

“Because the attendance will be more than 10,000, so I am asking for cooperation from everyone to come early to avoid traffic congestion,” he said.

Ibrahim added that the assembly will debate motions on religion, economy, education and security.

Perkasa was formed soon after Election 2008 and has turned into a strong pressure group representing those seeking to defend the constitutional position of the Malays and the social contract.

It has been at the forefront in lobbying the government to retain the affirmative action policy favouring the Malays and in the New Economic Model (NEM) scheduled to be announced at the end of this month.

By JAMES HOOKWAYKUALA LUMPUR—Malaysia's dilemma over whether to end some of the world's most entrenched systems of racial-preference laws is coming to a head.

Prime Minister Najib Razak is expected to outline this month plans to revitalize how the country's export-driven economy is run, with details to follow in June. The program might mean a push to change a decades-old system of preferential treatment for the country's majority Muslim-Malay population, which has often economically lagged behind its ethnic compatriots.

People familiar with his plans say he might move to liberalize some sectors of the economy, giving nonethnic Malays a larger role. He also is expected to give more non-Malay students access to scholarships. He already has made it easier for foreign business to invest in areas such as Islamic finance, and last week warned Malaysians to prepare for an end to state subsidies on various commodities, including sugar.

Malaysia's race-based quota system, in place since the early 1970s, gives ethnic Malays special treatment—from cheaper housing and loans, to advantages in securing university places and government jobs and contracts. The aim is to boost the economic power of the Malay population, which represents 54% of the country's 28 million people, but which typically doesn't do as well in business or high-earning jobs as Malaysians who are ethnic-Chinese or, to a lesser extent, ethnic-Indians. Those ethnic groups make up about 35% of the population.

Many think the affirmative-action system is too rigid for global competition for markets and investment. Business leaders such as Nazir Razak, Mr. Najib's brother and chief executive of banking concern CIMB Group Bhd., have called for the so-called bumiputera, or indigenous, rules to be revised. An opinion poll conducted by the independent Merdeka Center in 2008 found that 71% of Malaysians surveyed—and 65% of Malays—agreed the laws needed to be overhauled. Trading partners such as the U.S. and European Union have singled out government procurement policies that ensure contracts go to Malay-owned business as stalling free-trade pacts.

"I don't think there's any question that we need to commit to reform, although we'll still have to help Malaysians according to their need," says Khairy Jamaluddin, a top Malay politician with Mr. Najib's National Front coalition and leader of the United Malays National Organization's youth wing.

Still, some analysts doubt Mr. Najib will be able to take his overhauls far. Voluble opponents have emerged recently, led by a charismatic activist named Ibrahim Ali, who holds rallies and lobbies government officials. Last year, he founded the group Perkasa—the Malay word for warrior. He counts former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and royal rulers such as the sultan of Selangor among his 30,000 or so supporters.

Mr. Ibrahim argues that the social stability ensured by giving a leg up to the Malay population far outweighs the benefits of opening more of what was once one of Southeast Asia's most dynamic economies to the nimble and capital-rich ethnics in Malaysian—particularly the Chinese, but also the ethnic-Indians.

"The playing field can be leveled sometime in the future, but it's only 2010," says the 59-year-old Mr. Ibrahim, in his Kuala Lumpur office amid pictures of Fidel Castro, Che Guevera and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. "But we've got to be honest and say we can't compete."

Mr. Ibrahim is focusing on what political analysts say is Malaysia's defining quandary: How and when to dismantle one of the world's most comprehensive systems of preferential treatment, in an ethnically and religiously diverse nation.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib, right, expresses his good wishes to local Chinese people prior to the Chinese Spring Festival in Kuala Lumpur's China Town on Feb. 11, 2010.

The analysts say Mr. Najib is trying to win back ethnic-Chinese and ethnic-Indian voters to the ruling National Front by adopting some of Mr. Anwar's policies. The risk is that Mr. Najib might lose the support of some Malay voters, especially with Mr. Ibrahim leading the charge in support of Malay supremacy. The premier didn't respond to requests for an interview for this article.

The roots of the issue go back to the 19th and early 20th centuries, when British colonists encouraged workers from China and India to go to Malaysia to toil in the rubber and tin industries. In 1969, deadly race riots killed more than 100 in Kuala Lumpur and other cities. Malaysia's rulers then adopted the quota system in the early 1970s to help ethnic-Malays.

The goal: Build up the economic clout of the Malay community to control at least 30% of Malaysia's economic output. Malays now control about 19% of the economy—up from 2.4% since the program began, according to government figures. Some independent analysts say the actual figure is higher.

Mr. Najib may be well-positioned to demand change. He is a son of Malaysia's second prime minister after independence from Britain in 1957 and is perceived as a strong defender of Malay rights.

Mr. Ibrahim reckons Mr. Najib is misreading the depth of anger many Malays feel toward any change in a policy that has given many a leg up and helped to build a large middle class.

"People like Perkasa, they can derail the prime minister's plans. They do resonate with a segment of the Malay community," says Mr. Khairy, the UMNO activist. "But this is a time for leadership, not a time to pander to Malay insecurities."

Umno will lose the next general election if it fails to reform, warnsTengku Razaleigh Hamzah.

Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah has predicted that Umno and Barisan Nasional(BN) will be voted out of power if concrete reforms are notintroduced.

“Mark my words. If they don’t change in the next three years they aregoing to lose the next general elections,” the Kelantan prince andUmno veteran told The Malaysian Insider in an interview earlier thisweek.

The Gua Musang MP, whose views seem increasingly at odds with his ownparty, pointed out that following Election 2008, BN remained in poweronly because of support from politicians in Sabah and Sarawak.

In Election 2008, the Umno-led coalition suffered its worse resultsince Merdeka. It managed 140 parliamentary seats, with Sabah andSarawak accounting for 55, while the opposition Pakatan Rakyat took 81seats.

However, the parliamentarian said BN may not always have the supportof MPs from East Malaysia.

“They can sway either way, and will support the winner,” said TengkuRazaleigh, who added that Umno was established in Sabah only between1988 and 1989 while Umno did not exist in Sarawak.

He was also of the view that politicians from East Malaysia joined BNbecause it was strong and could assure them of their rights.

“Why should they continue to back us? We’re dependent on them,” hesaid, before adding that they would “watch and see”.

According to him, BN was also facing an uphill battle to regain thesupport from Malays who were divided, as well as the Chinese.

“There’s no place for rabid racism,” he said, and claiming that evenyoung Malays were rejecting it.

“The more hard line you are, the more frightened people are.”

As for the opposition, Razaleigh said it “appears to be in disarray”but he has been told that such impressions were because of the wayPakatan was being portrayed in the media.

While on the opposition, Razaleigh also voiced his respect for DatukSeri Anwar Ibrahim.

“It’s admirable that he has done so well,” he said, adding that theopposition leader had fired up the imagination of voters, particularlywith the young.

Despite the bleak outlook for his own party, Tengku Razaleigh said allwas not lost for Umno, provided they listened to the people andintroduced reforms.

“It’s not too late. The people are crying for change, not justhousekeeping.”

Tengku Razaleigh has been described as the conscience of Umno but whenasked about this, he responded “I don’t know if I am.”

The maverick politician said he was only doing what was right andreminisced about previous Umno leaders, such as Tun Hussein Onn, TunAbdul Razak Hussein and Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman, who were respectedeven by non-Malays.

As for the first prime minister, he said “Tunku (Abdul Rahman) was notonly respected but revered.”

He said these past leaders gained the respect of the people, and evenof opposition politicians like Lim Kit Siang, by being fair andupholding the Constitution.

From: OngBak3 Subject: No wisdom in Msian judiciary - not even common sense

The Federal Court’s ruling on 25 February 2010 that it had nojurisdiction to review its own decision is utter nonsense. The threejudges who came to this conclusion on Rule 137 of the Federal CourtRule - Zulkefli Ahmad Makinuddin, Mohd Ghazali Mohd Yusoff andHeliliah Mohd Yusof - were referred to by the former Court of Appealjudge, N H Chan, as “incompetent judges – perhaps they were clowns astheir statements were laughable.”

N H Chan has brilliantly summed up the reaction of Malaysians to thisatrocious judgment by stating, “We, the ordinary citizens of thiscountry, are stunned by the ignorance of our judges of the highestcourt in the land…”

In a very scathing indictment, without mincing his words, he put itbluntly, “It is only when we have fools on the bench that I can pointout that what they have decided is not the law.”

When these personages garbed in judicial robes deliver judgments thatare so bereft of wisdom and common sense, we wonder what is thepurpose in turning to the courts for justice. Do we indeed need thesecourts when judges don't deliver justice and “do not know justice frominjustice.”

The bone of contention in this issue is Rule 137. Let’s take a goodlook at Rule 137 of the Federal Court to understand what it is allabout. In simple, clear terms, Rule 137 of the Federal Court states:

“Nothing in these rules shall be deemed to limit or affect the inherent powers of the Court to hear any application or to make any order as may be necessary to prevent injustice or to prevent an abuse of the process of the Court.”

I’m not schooled in the law but it seems plain enough to me that thisrule does not in any way limit “the inherent powers of the Court.”In other words, it can “hear any application or make any order as maybe necessary to prevent injustice or an abuse of the process of theCourt”.

It is very clear that this rule empowers the Federal Court to preventan injustice whenever it occurs. It also has authority to prevent anabuse of the process of the Court when certain elements resort to thecourt to legitimise an illegal act or fraud.

This empowering rule allows the Federal Court to prevent injustice andthe abuse of the judicial process when certain judges discard theiroath of office and deliver judgments that offend and betray the ruleof law.

We have witnessed how this court process was abused in the case ofthe Perak State Assembly crisis, aided and abetted by judges whoseemingly come across as people who have little understanding of thelaw; as people who are not capable of applying the law as it standsand as people who don't care for the law.

The judges were so blatant and biased in their decision that N H Chanhas rightly put it, “The so-called Perak crisis has brought out a hostof cases that showed that the judges gave the impression that theywere one-sided. The perception of the people is that they sided withthe BN government.”

Now, this decision that disappointed thinking Malaysians cannot bereviewed because the recent Federal Court decision had foolishlyousted its jurisdiction. It is, perhaps, done deliberately so thatthe injustice perpetrated by these judges cannot be corrected in thefuture and they cannot be exposed as shallow minds sitting on judicialbenches. According to N H Chan, these judges are “such lowlyindividuals (who) should never be allowed to sit on the seat ofJustice...to be judges at all. And yet there are so many of them inthe judiciary today ever since the rot began”.

When the ignorance of these judges was so gross and their decision soperverse, befuddled Malaysians are wondering why the Bar Council hadnothing to say with regard to this ridiculous situation. Shouldn’tjustice be their sole concern? Doesn’t this flagrant injustice asperpetrated by the Federal Court mean anything to them? In theinterest of their profession, aren’t they expected to be troubled bythis decision?

Why then has the Bar Council not commented or taken a stand on thisissue?

We cannot allow this scandalous situation to continue or persist. TheBar Council is enjoined by the Legal Profession Act 1976 under 42(a)“to uphold the cause of justice without regard to its own interests orthat of its members, uninfluenced by fear or favour”. It is a nationalobligation that has been entrusted to the Bar Council by an act ofParliament “to uphold the cause of justice.” It must remain true andfaithful to this sacred responsibility.

Aliran would like to call upon the Bar Council to boycott the courtsone day in a month, every month, until this decision is rescinded orreversed so that the avenue to seek justice is not foreclosed .

The Bar Council may also want to consider boycotting the Federal Courtuntil this matter is righted. This move is not without precedent. In1988, the Bar Council adopted a resolution to boycott the SupremeCourt and the Lord President, Tun Hamid Omar, for the abysmal role heplayed in the ouster of Tun Salleh Abas to weaken the judiciary andstrengthen the hand of Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the politician.

The nation looks up to the Bar Council to make a stand at its AGMtomorrow. Will it take up the challenge and live up to ourexpectations?

SAN FRANCISCO — Social-networking star Facebook surpassed Google tobecome the most visited website in the United States for the firsttime last week, industry analysts showed.

Facebook's homepage finished the week ending March 13 as the mostvisited site in the country, according to industry tracker Hitwise.

The "important milestone," as described by Hitwise director ofresearch Heather Dougherty, came as Facebook enjoyed a massive 185percent increase in visits in the same period, compared to the sameweek in 2009.

By comparison, visits to search engine home Google.com increased onlynine percent in the same time -- although the tracker does not includeGoogle property sites such as the popular Gmail email service, YouTubeand Google Maps.

Google has been positioning challenges in recent months to Facebookand the micro-blogging site Twitter by adding the social-networkingfeature Buzz to its Gmail service.

In what could signal an escalating battle between Facebook and Google,the leading social-networking service celebrated its sixth birthdayearlier this year with changes including a new message inbox thatechoes Gmail's format.

Facebook boasts some 400 million users while Gmail had 176 millionunique visitors in December, according to tracking firm comScore.

This was the DCP's reaction after branding Penang state as a gay sex service hub.

While it's true that there are centers in all states that are being used for sex, how is it that only those servicing homosexual clients are labeled as allowing 'unhealthy culture'?

Let's be frank. If the police were in Penang wanted to raid every single spa, massage parlour, karaoke center and fitness center to weed out all things related to vice, then Penang would basically have at least 2 percent of its population behind bars.

And frankly, I think at least the raids on gay locales would at least be Malaysian citizens, while the more heterosexual locations would probably be foreign employees.

Penang is an entertainment hub in Malaysia, and yes, perhaps this is a vice in the state that the police should be dealing with. However, what's with the focus on simply gay sex?

All promiscuous sex solicitation is illegal, regardless of sexual orientation.

And if the police of Penang wished to promote a 'healthy culture', then please enlighten me on how a protest burning an effigy of the Chief minister is considered 'healthy'?

How is the pirated goods on sale at Batu Ferringhi 'healthy'?

Gay sex, by far, is the least of the police of Penang's major concern when it comes to it's objective of maintaining civil order.

And the Royal Malaysian Police of the state of Penang should know better than to single out that the island merely services 'gay sex', when it is rather obvious every single karaoke bar has enough women to service the heterosexuals.

Also, considering that baby dumping is now considered an act of apostasy by the state's mufti, I think gay sex would actually be a better alternative for most of them since safe sex isn't even part of the state agenda.

"As for now, we believe the killing was over personal matters. We willbe calling up individuals known to the victim to assist us in ourprobe," said federal CID director Commissioner Datuk Seri Mohd BakriZinin said.

Bentong deputy police chief DSP Mansor Mohd Nor said although thebody, which is at the Temerloh Hospital mortuary, was identified asChoong’s by his family, police will release the remains only afterconfirming this with DNA tests as it was decomposed beyondrecognition.

Choong’s family and a staff member at his asset management company,Kumpulan Sentiasa Cemerlang (KSC), had identified the body based onthe clothes.

Mansor said Choong’s car, a Mercedes Benz, has also not been foundyet.

Choong’s father, Datuk Freddie Choong, when contacted by theSun, saidthe funeral will be conducted in Kuala Lumpur and not in his hometownin Penang after police release his remains.

It was erroneously reported in theSun today that Choong was the son offormer national badminton champion Datuk Eddy Choong and nephew ofDatuk David Choong.

"I am his father. Eddy and David are my older brothers and are KhuatHock's uncles," Freddie clarifed and declined further comment on hisson’s death.

Choong was a bachelor and lived alone with a maid at his double-storeylink house at Taman Supreme, Cheras. He was a co-partner of KSC andalso a business news columnist for a newspaper and magazine.

He had failed to report for work on March 10 and his staff memberslodged a missing person’s report with Brickfields police.

On Saturday, his decomposed body was found off the Karak Highway.Police contacted his family based on the physical description statedin the missing person’s report as there were no identification paperson him.

Police said a post mortem showed he died of a blow to his chest causedby a blunt object at least four days earlier, which meant Choong waskilled just hours after he was last seen at about 6pm on March 9.

Police urged those with information to assist them by contacting theBentong CID at 09-222 2222

Those who dispute statistics that Sabah is among the poorest in thewhole world should take note of this fact.

Many were cheated by their employers. This is routine treatment to allworkers in the whole of Malaysia that share similar laws and theirenforcement, which made Malaysia, especially Sabah, the worst in Human Traffickingi.e. SLAVERY.

http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=70825

We've been proven right!

Kota Kinabalu: A Daily Express check in Kuala Lumpur confirmed manyhomeless and jobless Sabahans there. They are mostly from rural areasand depending on charitable organisations for survival.This reporter met about 15 Sabahans and three Sarawakians who turnedup at the Archdiocesan Office for Human Development (AHOD) at JalanBukit Nenas, Kuala Lumpur, last Friday.

AHOD, the official arm of the Catholic Church (in the Archdiocese ofKuala Lumpur) is among non-governmental organisations providing freefood for the homeless in the nation's capital.

Officer-in-charge of AHOD, Carl D'Cunha, as well as Sabahan priest FrValentine Gompok who is currently serving at the St Francis of Assisiparish in Cheras, helped to arrange the meeting.

Also present was Anita Sani from Persatuan Momogun Malaysia who saidshe would submit a report to the relevant authorities in Sabah forfurther action.

Daily Express had on Jan. 18 exposed the presence of quite a number ofyoung people from East Malaysia, mostly from Sabah, stranded in thenation's capital, roaming the streets and depending on free meals.

The expose came about following investigative reporting follow-upswith other NGOs providing similar charitable services there, namelyKechara Soup Kitchen Society and Street Fellowship at Klang BusStation.

Another Sabahan from Tambunan turned up for the free meal but declinedto join the meeting. Half of them expressed desire to return to Sabahwhen they had the money while the rest hoped to stay on for a while tosee if their fortunes improved.

The Sarawakians who joined in included a 17-year-old girl Angira akDolkit from Kampung Serikin in Bau; Ritzman G. Clerk (38) from SriAman and Seling ak Dian from Kapit. They said they slept anywhere thatwas comfortable.

According to Carl, AHOD looks into the food aspects of about 30 or soyoung people from East Malaysia.

Apai, considered one of the "seniors", has guided about 15 Sabahanswho he found stranded in various parts of KL to places such as AHODwhere they at least get free meals. He admitted being jobless andhomeless in Kuala Lumpur for about four to five years now.

"In Kuala Lumpur, there are many homeless Sabahans, (easily) more thana hundred and maybe 300 to 400. You can find them in many places likeMasjid India, Daya Bumi, Klang Bus Station and Bukit NenasÉini yangbetul-betul merempat, yang tiada rumah, tiada apa semua (these aretruly homeless, do not have a home, do not have anything at all)," hesaid.

According to him, most came to the peninsula following private jobrecruitment agents but ended up cheated by these agents or thoseemploying them. Others followed their Sabahan friends already there,hoping to find work but after some time either quit due to socialproblems.

As for Apai, mixing with the wrong people caused him to be in thissituation. He came to the peninsula about 13 years ago and did variousjobs, including as a security guard, contract worker and factoryworker.

Apai said people like him sleep either along the roadsides, parks orat buildings like Daya Bumi or the Puduraya bus terminal. He saidalthough all those from Sabah do not sleep at the same place everynight, their daily routine is similar.

"Normally, we will go to another church near a bus stand in Klangwhich is open at about 10am daily and closes at 5pm for our freemorning breakfast and lunch," he said.

After that, he said they would go their separate ways, some to meetother friends or to look for another place to spend the night.

"Sometimes I will follow friends and look for workÉthis way we can getpart-time jobs. This is routine for us everyday."

Because the charity centres only provide meals during daytime, dinnerrequires going to behind fast food outlets, usually KFC, or similarpremise to salvage discarded leftover food they can eat from rubbishbins.

"We look for any leftover food still eatable that we can find in therubbish bins of these premisesÉkira okay la, boleh juga (it's okay,still can)," he said, adding that the homeless people from otherstates also do likewise.

However, he said they (homeless, including from different states)never fight over the leftover food at these premises because "sama-sama faham (mutually understand each other)".

Apai, whose family once lodged a missing person report back in Tenom,said for personal hygiene, he would normally go to the nearest mosqueto bathe. When nature calls and if he does not have any money, he willrelieve himself at any secluded place he can find. Admitting it ishard to be homeless and jobless in the nation's capital without anyplace to turn to for assistance, he hoped the Government will helppeople like them.

During the meeting, Fr Valentine provided them consultation whileAnita recorded their particulars for further action by the Sabah StateGovernment. Anita, who is based in Kuala Lumpur, claimed to have beendirected by the authorities in Sabah after Daily Express broke thestory.

She said the directive came after a meeting held a week earlierinvolving various parties.

She also took down the particulars of those who wished to return toSabah.

Most of those present admitted have been involved in drugs but havesince repented.

Many still had their MyKad with them while a few others were holdingtemporary identification documents after losing theirs to snatchthieves or to former employers.

'Pakatan will prevail - with or without me'Athi Shankar Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim fired a stern warning to his detractors that the people would vote BN out of Putrajaya in the next polls, whether he is in jail or not.

I think this scenario is quite true, that regime change and reform is unstoppable by imprisoning the leaders of movement. It had been proven in the downing of Polish Communist Regime, that when Lech Walesa together with about 1600 other union leaders were imprisoned the political situation in Poland turned irreversibly against the communist regime. During that period of crucial change Lech Walesa & all of his key movement leaders were all already imprisoned by Polish Communist Regime and were not at all in control of situation outside the prisons. However the crucial shift of power still took place.

This showed that imprisonment of the movement leadership can not stop the reform, and what have to change still will change, what have to be gone will still be gone.

Strikes spread like wild fire across Poland and the Communist Regime were unable to control it at all even when key union leaders such as Lech Walesa were already put behind bars for over a year. In the end the Polish Communist Regime gave up and released their political prisoners, within 3 days after Walesa was released he managed to call of all the strikes and he soon became the new president.

This is something that BN & famiLEE LEEgime have to painfully learn. When your powers are gone, they are gone, imprisoning your successors isn't going to make any difference.

From: OngBak3 The Marina Mahathir's article which The Star refused to publish because of govt KDN's threat to withdraw licence.

Marina Mahathir wrote an exceptional article for her regular column inthe Star but alas, the newspaper refused to publish it.

Fortunately for us, here is the article....

When we want to compete with anyone in any field we seek those who are better than us. And we keep going until finally we are recognized as the best. For example, a tennis player starts at the unranked bottom and tries to play and win against better players until finally there is nobody to beat.

We do not however insist that everybody comes down to our level or to play badly in order for us to win.

This is what puzzles me about the syariah courts in our country. In 1988 a clause was inserted into our Constitution that has been interpreted as having erected a Berlin Wall between the syariah and the civil courts. Basically Article 121(1A) said “the courts referred to in Clause (1) shall have no jurisdiction in respect of any matter within the jurisdiction of the syariah courts." This has caused untold problems because real life sometimes dictates that some issues cross over both jurisdictions. But leave that aside for a moment.

Although the new clause did not say that the two separate courts were equal to one another, there are some people who are of the view that the syariah court is superior to the civil courts simply because syariah law is deemed of a higher order than civil laws. This is because apparently God made syariah laws while mere human beings made the civil laws. Never mind the fact that human beings have been changing syariah laws over the years, for instance, by loosening laws that protected women from losing all their property to their divorced husbands. Like other laws in this country, syariah laws have to be drafted, tabled and passed through our various lawmaking bodies whether at the State or Federal levels. This process leaves a lot of human fingerprints all over them.

Civil laws are drafted, tabled and passed through Parliament. The difference is that at the tabling stage , they have to be debated before they are passed. The quality of the debate may be sometimes wanting but debated they are. This process provides some sort of ‘quality control’ over the laws so that they are hopefully current, reflect realities and are just.

The same does not hold true of syariah laws. When they get tabled at State Excos, non-Muslims do not participate because there is the notion that they cannot partake in any such debate. That leaves only the Muslim Excos, few of whom are women. This means that if a bill affects women, the opinions of the female minority in the Exco can be ignored. Furthermore, most people are ignorant about their religion and tend to leave these matters to those they believe know best. Thus if the State Mufti or religious adviser says it’s a good law, they are unlikely to challenge him. Thus are religious laws passed unscrutinised.

Until, that is, something happens such as when someone gets convicted of a syariah crime and punishment is meted out. Who knew until recently that people could get caned for drinking, or for having a baby out of wedlock until the recent cases of Kartika and the three women?

Not only are these laws not debated when they are being made but they can’t be debated afterwards either, unlike civil laws. To do so, according to some people, is akin to arguing with God it seems. (There are however some who think that God welcomes such arguments just so that He can prove He is right).

If one believes that syariah laws are superior to civil laws, should they not be held to higher standards? Should they not be subjected to more rigorous debate than civil laws out of fear that they may be unjust? If syariah courts are deemed superior to civil courts, should not their processes be more transparent and efficient? How is it that there are innumerable women having to undergo tremendous suffering because syariah court orders to their divorced husbands to pay child maintenance cannot be enforced?

How is it also that we suddenly hear about women being caned without any information about the processes they went through? Did they have the benefit of legal representation and heard in an open court? If they did, who were their lawyers and what defense did they mount?

Surely the best court of law is one that strives for justice, which shows it is fair to all parties. In this case, on whose behalf was justice served?

I have no problems with syariah laws if their foundation is justice, equality and non-discrimination for all, even non-Muslims. But when their intent, processes and enforcement are unfair, they only give the impression that Islam is unjust and discriminatory. Surely to give such an image of Islam is a sin.

IPOH - A 15-YEAR-OLD student was gang-raped by 15 men in Sungai Klahin Sungkai, about 84km from Ipoh. The girl was first raped by five menat a hot spring site at about 6.30pm on Feb 28.

'She was forced by a man known only as 'Wan' to follow him to the hotsprings, where four others were waiting,' said Tapah OCPDSuperintendent Roslan Bek Ahmad.

There, the five men took turns to rape the girl. One of the men wastold to send the girl back after the incident. However, he took thegirl to an empty house in Felda Sungai Klah, near the hot springs,where 10 others were waiting.

The girl was repeatedly raped and kept at the house. The next day, shewas sent to the Sungai Kruit bus station where her godbrother pickedher up and sent her home.

The girl related her ordeal to her mother who took her to lodge areport at the Sungkai police station. Supt Roslan Bek said policedetained two suspects, aged 15 and 29, in Sungkai at about 1am onTuesday.

> ALMOST 4,000 children in Malaysia were rescued from various abuses by> the Social Welfare Department from 2008 till July this year.

> Such are the alarming figures shown in the latest statistics from the> department, whose officers have offered protection to children> under-18 from a litany of abuses — including sexual, physical and> emotional abuse. Abandonment and neglect were other problems.

> What’s more worrying is that these are just the officially reported> cases. Case reports for the later half of this year have yet to be> compiled, with more child abuse reports forecasted. In 2006 and 2007,> the number of child abuse cases for both years stood at 4,278. Judging> by the steady rise in cases reported, it is feared that Malaysia would> have recorded 10,000 cases in just the last four years.

> Social Welfare Department children’s division director Nor Amni Yusof> said this tragic rise may be attributed to the economic and social> situations of modern families.

> “We have mothers and fathers who have lesser parenting skills, who do> not care about their children, as well> as quarreling spouses who cause the child to be the victim,” she said.

> Nor Amni said the country’s development is not at par with its social> development. “Families stressed by poverty are releasing their> frustrations on children. Another example is those who come from> rural villages,> who cannot take the culture shock of living in the city,” said Nor> Amni.

> From the numbers made available to Malay Mail, girls make up the bulk> of abused children (see accompanying story). Over 19 months till July,> the department took in as many as 1,033 sexually abused girls. From> these,> 689 girls were sexually abused by a parent or guardian or a member of> the extended family.

This sort of sexual abuse is common in most muslim countries....fatherfucking daughter and mum fucking son...This also happen in the classy islamic Saudi arabia kingdom let alone,those pariah muslim countries ie. those south african countries.

> Worse still, the remaining 344 were sexually abused — but their> parents or guardians did nothing to stop it.> Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat> Abdul Jalil said that when a child complains that “someone touched me”> the person to whom the child complained to should take the matter> seriously and immediately call the Department of Social Welfare,> police or Talian Nur so that action can be taken to rescue the child.

> “Children do not lie about such matters. A child who is abused will be> traumatised and will need counseling and professional intervention by> a child psychologist or psychiatrist.

> “Non-abusing parents usually keep silent about the abuse because of> fear, hopelessness and isolation or lack> of support from other family members,” she said.

> “The Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development takes this> issue very seriously and will not hesitate to take legal action on> those found guilty of causing harm, injury and death to children,”> Sharizat said.

> Child abuse is an offence under Section 31 of the Child Act 2001. A> person found guilty of such an offence can be fined not more than> RM20,000 or jailed for not more than 10 years or both.

> In cases of child abuse resulting in death, such cases are usually> charged under the Penal Code as culpable> homicide and punishable by death.

> Shahrizat said the Department of Social Welfare has always placed> paramount focus on the safety of children. She said the National Child> Policy and the National Child Protection Policy were approved by the> Cabinet on July 29 this year.

> Both these policies ensure the rights of children to survival,> protection (from all forms of neglect, abuse, violence and> exploitation), development and participation. It also provides> guidelines to various agencies, non-governmental organisations,> volunteers and the community to work together to ensure that children> grow> up in a safe and conducive environment.> Girls the main target for sexual abuse

> GIRLS are more than 10 times likely to be sexually abused compared to> boys. Statistics showed that for this year till July, there were only> 21 sexually-abused boys aged below 18 — while there were 335 girls.> For the whole of last year, 35 boys were reported to have been abused> sexually as compared to 698 girls.

> University Malaya Medical Centre senior lecturer and consultant> psychiatrist Dr Subash Kumar told Malay> Mail it is more common for girls to be abused, especially sexually.

> “Some cases are committed by serial killers or psychopaths.> Unfortunately, such abuse is committed by someone the child knows and> often takes place in their own homes. It could be their father,> mother, religious teacher, uncle or even grandfather.”

> Boys are commonly victims of physical or emotional abuse. This, Dr> Subash said, is when a child is subjected to an unsuitable environment> such as a home where parents are drunkards.

> Other situations could occur if the mother or father had been married> multiple times. “Where there is no love, the child suffers. For> example, if the parents are just too busy and leave the children to> becompletely raised by maids, where a child if often yelled at, not> provided adequate food and shelter or even left to be raised in a> welfare home as the parents cannot take care of them.”

> Dr Subash — who specialises in cases dealing with children, adolescent> and adults — said child abuse is a big problem in the country.

> Social Welfare Department children’s division director Nor Amni Yusof> said the department has noted a number of reasons why girls seem to> be the more common abuse target.

> “Firstly, young girls are usually weaker and more afraid of things> and people. This is what the abuser exploits.

> Also, girls are seen as being more cute and cuddly, therefore are an> ‘encouragement’ to people with paedophiliac tendencies,” she said.

> Nor Amni said there are those who themselves were abused in childhood> and so they too abuse their child the> same way, or worse.

> “We have also seen mothers or stepmothers who are abusive due to> jealousy of their husbands being close with their daughters,” she> added.> Most abusers come from Selangor

> STATISTICS from the Social Welfare Department revealed that child> abuse cases were reported mostly in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Penang> since 2006.

> At the other end of the scale, Labuan had no child abuse cases> reported, while the lowest number of cases over this period were> reported in Sabah (34) and Kelantan (63). At 2,656 cases, Selangor had> the worst record — with over 1,000 more reports compared with Kuala> Lumpur (1,646) and Penang had 709 reported cases.

> Social Welfare Department children’s division director Nor Amni Yusof> said that among reasons these three States had higher numbers recorded> was because they had a higher population compared with other States.

> “The influx of illegal immigrants into these States is also rising> each year. That has also had an impact on the social interaction and> culture of residents.”

> The higher numbers reported could also be due to residents making the> effort to actually lodge child abuse or neglect reports since they’re> aware of who to contact in such matters.

> “We’ve had a high number of awareness programmes in these three> States, which leads to more people knowing where to make complaints.> Also, we’ve had an increasing number of NGOs that are fighting for the> rights of children,” said Nor Amni.

> University Malaya Medical Centre senior lecturer and consultant> psychiatrist Dr Subash Kumar said that the higher population in cities> does not mean abuse hardly happens in smaller towns.

> “When we go and visit inmates in prison, there are child abusers who> come from smaller towns and kampungs. Bear in mind that many people in> large towns are those who have moved there from smaller towns,” he> said.

> The number of child abuse cases could seem to be lower in smaller> States because many probably go unreported — due to the stigma and> shame that comes attached with the offense, said Dr Subash.

> As for larger cities, with a denser population, there are also more> opportunities for perpetrators to commit child abuse.

> “People there are more stressed. There are also people without jobs> and cities attract all sorts of people, be it the sane or insane,” he> added.

Subject: MCA leaders continue to screw each other upKUALA LUMPUR: MCA will elect new leaders on March 28 — this was theonly tangible decision emerging from a day of frenzied speculation anddiscord as members pledged their allegiances to various factions.

A day after the resignations of two-thirds of central committeemembers that triggered party elections, it remains unclear if theannual general meeting due tomorrow will be convened.

Barisan Nasional chairman Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who is scheduled toaddress party members, will not be attending the meeting, according tohis office.

Even more pressing is whether today’s Youth and Wanita assemblies willtake place. As political allegiance held sway, some delegates at theirwelcoming dinner last night said they would attend the assemblies,while others would stay away.

The flurry of meetings and press conferences at the Wisma MCA hereyesterday did little to add certainty.

Reflecting on the state of affairs, Youth chief Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siongconvened three press conferences in the course of the day.

Wee and Wanita chief Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun insisted that theirrespective assemblies should be called off despite the centralcommittee’s “advice” to proceed.

Party secretary-general Datuk Wong Foon Meng said the Youth and Wanitaassemblies should go ahead as a postponement would contravene their by-laws.

An aide said: “He has accepted what has happened. In fact, he wasn’tsurprised with the development as Dr Chua (deputy president Datuk SeriDr Chua Soi Lek) did mention the possibility of fresh polls in March.So this was not entirely unexpected.”

At press time, Ong had not updated his blog.

Ong’s supporters said they would attend tomorrow’s AGM. This was alsothe stance of the rump central committee that met yesterday. Some 20CC members, predominantly Ong supporters, were there.

Wee and Chew stormed out of the meeting because they said they werethe only dissenters to the decision to go ahead with their movements'assemblies.

Deepening the sense of confusion, segments within the party aredisputing the validity of the CC meeting, invoking clause 41 of theMCA constitution which states that should two-thirds of the CC membersresign, someone must be appointed by the CC within three days tooversee new elections.

This clause suggests, as interpreted by those against yesterday's CCmeeting, with the appointment of Wong as its caretaker, the CC hasceased to function.

Said a grassroots leader: "The party's situation is messy and almostcomical since the CC is now defunct and, therefore, should not bemaking decisions about today's Youth and Wanita assemblies."

National organising secretary Simon Lim said: "There is no such thingas a caretaker CC.

"I don't want any party members to be misled."

The party was besieged yesterday with many trying to figure out thebattle lines ahead.

The New Straits Times yesterday quoted a staunch supporter of Ong assaying that party brokers had decided to install Dr Chua as presidentand vice-president Datuk Seri Liong Tiong Lai as the No. 2.

However, this prospect was rejected by supporters of Dr Chua and Liow.A staunch Dr Chua supporter said Dr Chua and those in the CC alignedto him had never budged from their stand that fresh polls should beheld this month.

"The resignations are to fulfil our promise to the delegates," hesaid.

Another party leader pointed out to the earlier signs of adeteriorating relationship between Ong and Dr Chua.

"The clearest evidence was during the MCA Chinese New Year functionfor the media last month. Dr Chua came early and left before Ongarrived."

A CC member aligned to Dr Chua said while publicly Ong had delegatedresponsibilities to his deputy, behind closed-doors it was anotherstory.

"Ong is not sincere in working together with Dr Chua. Behind thescenes, he is still acting arbitrarily. Ong is making use of Dr Chuaas a tool to repress Liow and Dr Chua has had enough," he said.

Understandably, Ong's supporters are refusing to write him off.

Central committee member Datuk Ti Lian Ker said: "He may be corneredbut he is not out. He has sprung back from many political near missesmany times."

Last Oct 22, the feuding duo, in a show of unity, publicly buried thehatchet.

It now remains to be seen how this will translate into votes, if Ongdecides to contest.

Speculation is that Dr Chua commands the biggest support, with atleast one-third of the 2,400 delegates firmly behind him.

Puchong division vice-chief Datuk Theng Book predicted that the levelof support for Dr Chua was 50 per cent, Liow 30 per cent with Ongtrailing at 20 per cent.

KUALA LUMPUR (March 5, 2010): The MCA Youth and Wanita wings have postponed their respective annual general meetings (AGM), scheduled for tomorrow, following yesterday's resignation by 21 elected members of the party's powerful central committee to make way for new polls.

The decisions were taken after the two wings held emergency exco meetings at the party headquarters in Wisma MCA, Jalan Ampang, here today.

Youth chief Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong said the move was due to uncertainty over the fate of the party (AGM) that was scheduled for Sunday, after the 21 elected central committee members quit yesterday.

Deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek, who was among those who resigned, had asked for fresh party polls to be held within a month.

Wee said he had met party secretary-general Datuk Wong Foon Meng yesterday but the latter could not say whether Sunday's AGM would go ahead.

"Until this morning, there has been no confirmation, so we discussed and deliberated the issue before deciding to postpone our AGM," said Wee.

He advised delegates who have yet to arrive in the capital to change their plans, while accommodation would be provided for those who are already here.

Wee said the Pemuda dinner planned for tonight would not be cancelled.

Wanita chief Datuk Paduka Chew Mei Fun said it was a majority decision to postpone the AGM.

However, the celebrations for Wanita International Day tonight would proceed as planned. -- Bernama

No community should make demands at the expense of another, but "whatis good for one community should also be good for every community",said Najib, who is Barisan Nasional chairman.

This was one way to achieve the Malaysian dream of being "united,harmonious and prosperous", he added.

Malaysians must not leave this to chance or coincidence or let ithappen by itself.

"Since this is the dream of every Malaysian, we have to take itseriously in terms of our words, deeds and actions," he said at theChinese New Year celebration hosted by Sin Chew and Guang Ming dailieshere yesterday.

"We have to work together by galvanising all Malaysians, and worktowards inculcating that conscience with a deep sense ofunderstanding."

Najib said the 1Malaysia concept called for a shift from the basicparadigm of tolerating each other.

"Accepting each other is the apex of celebrating each other'sdiversity. Once we have reached this final destination, we will thinkand act as one people, one nation with one dream."

He said the open house events held in conjunction with festivalsshould also be "a celebration of the values and mindset of 1Malaysia".

Earlier, Federation of Chinese Associations of Malaysia president TanSri Pheng Yin Huah said the association wanted to see a united,harmonious and progressive Malaysia.

Najib said as Malaysians, "we might have different paths andopinions".

"For instance, Sin Chew may have a different path from Utusan Malaysiawhile other media groups may have others. But we must converge. Wemust allow discourse of different opinions but we must not pullMalaysia down."

Najib also touched on the contributions of past prime ministers,saying that they believed in power-sharing to make Malaysia united,harmonious and prosperous.

The first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, believed in power-sharing and give-and-take.

On his father, second prime minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, who tookover the leadership after the 1969 racial clashes, Najib said: "If hehad taken a wrong turn, the country might have been ruined."

PETALING JAYA: A 23-year-old woman and her lorry attendant husband,33, were remanded for seven days for the murder of 18-month-old K.Haresvarren.

Magistrate Aishah Hijriah Arshad issued the remand order on the formerbabysitter and her husband when they were brought to the magistrate’scourt here for remand proceedings at 11.30am Friday.

The boy’s death had fuelled allegations of abuse as police foundHaresvarren with six broken ribs, a ruptured liver consistent withsevere blunt force trauma in addition to some old and new bruises onhis body.

It was also learnt that there were fingernail marks on the boy’sprivate parts and a testicle was swollen.

Haresvarren’s father was quoted saying that his wife he left the boyat a friend’s flat at Kampung Sungai Kayu Ara at 9pm on Wednesdaynight.

The babysitter’s husband, who lived one floor below turned up and tookthe boy away, saying that he wanted to buy the baby chocolates,hesaid.

He added that when the boy was returned to the babysitter, he hadpointed at his head indicating that he was not well, he added.